Managing an Offshoring Team

Ok, I owe you all an apology. In my last post I realized that I didn't name the title properly. Though offshoring is actually a part of outsourcing, when it's taken off US lands to foreign countries, offshoring is the appropriate term. We last talked about communication and understanding the need for clear, concise requirement analysis and documentation to improve outcomes. But, we really didn't discuss some of the down to earth, logistical issues that come up. I never realized that India is actually a day (ok, more like 12 hours) ahead of the US. And unless I make a concentrated effort, I still think of Tuesday as the second day of the workweek. So when you decide to schedule a team conference call for Tuesday 10:00 AM, I am going to dial that number on Tuesday 10:00 AM. Well, needless to say my first offshore conference call was a bust. They called my home at 10:00 PM on Monday night, and I was soundly watching (Ok, truthfully, the TV was watching me sleep) the television. I was not prepared for the call, hadn't read notes or even thought about approach to resolving the issues we were supposed to discuss. We won't go into the fact the regardless I should have already done this in preparation for the 10:00 AM call. Between long yawns and dead silences, I did not make the best impression on my new team. Not the best way to pick up the pieces of a project. My first recommendation is if you have some type of assistant, have that person schedule and send you reminders of the TRUE time for your meeting. Or, set up reminders on your cell phone. And if at all possible, schedule meetings with offshore teams during your working hours. Believe me, in the long run it will save you a few grey hairs, and some respect. If you are like me, and have NO assistants and way too much work to do, then the cell phone seems to be the best solution. We always seem to have our cell phones. I used to buy PDA's and all type of electronic "life trackers", but I never had the time to make the things work. But my cell phone, that I can handle. I know these sound like obvious things, but if again, if you have the multi-tasking life that I have, sometimes we miss the obvious. Tne second thing that has proven advantageous is to have one individual on the offshore team who has worked in the US for a couple of years. Or bring one of the team members over so that there can be a cross learning of cultures. Having one person who can bridge the culture/communication gap can be a project saver. Learn as much as you possibly can about the culture of the offshore team. For example, some cultures do not have a lot of respect for women. It may be difficult for a woman to get results in a leadership role. We hate to think about things like this, but it is a reality. These types of issues may have to be addressed. Better to approach and resolve them if necessary before the project suffers. It will be easier to identify cultural issues if you do have the individual talked about above, who can help to bridge that gap. Finally, another VERY useful tool can be Instant Messenger. Depending on the time zones you live in, there may be times that you can "chat" with the offshore team during regular working hours. It gives you a little more connection with people who are thousands of miles away. Or, leave your computer (or laptop is even better on a wireless network), where you can actively hear and respond to IM. That way you can watch TV, yet hear someone calling you on Instant Messenger. As talked about in the last post, email can sometimes take 2-3 days to just understand the problem. Telephone calls can be very expensive. But IM can give 24 hour access to people. You are probably wondering why I have focused on communication. Believe me, it can really make or break your project. Poor communication can have a negative impact on projects handled completely in the US, even in the same building. Imagine what it can do to a team that comes from three or four different continents...

Some name

"Hi Sandy=2E I am going to try that timezones thing, I still have a= hard time figuring out when I am supposed to be calling India=2E= It seems like you are actually in India vs being in the US, is= that correct?

Well then you probably have a much better outlook on how women= are treated=2E I was referring to India in my comments=2E My reason= for saying that was I was getting literally NO feedback from my= project manager in India=2E The developers were not producing, and= when I would ask for feedback even status reports, they just= ignored me=2E I am sure there could have been other reasons, in= fact as time progressed, I did find out there were other issues=2E= But, I really would like to know more about any issues that= might be related to being a woman=2E Or if I am totally wrong and= that is not the case, I don't mind in the least being corrected=2E= It sounds like you are succesfully managing your team there? Another question, why do you think it's more beneficial for me to= travel there to meet the team? I am asking this because the main= developer has asked me to come over there, but our company is= low on funds at the moment and restricting oversees travel=2E Appreciate your thoughts, I really am trying to make this work=2E= The world is turning into one big place, and we have to learn to= work together=2E

"My project is an Onsite-Offshore model...We implemented AGILE ""baby steps"" as our first step. Daily stand up meeting which is of 30 minutes of duration (max), where all the development teams speak to the point. No lengthy discussion is permitted. This is coordinated by Technical Project Manager/equivalent. Technical & non-Technical problems, bottlenecks are detected here.

For middle level management this gives a wealth of information...and solution to solve the problem. Onsite manangers will join once in 10 days to view the overall progress......

"Thanks for the feedback on Agile. We have a local users group here, and I actually am a member, just have not had time to attend the meetings. I am now managing a team that is not an offshore model, but we are looking for a good methodology.